Recently I read a few articles from TW press on TW college kids in AU on working holiday. The AU work and holiday VISA allows young adults ages 18-30 to work in AU for up to 12 months (24 months possible in less desirable jobs/locations):http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/462/

* A 27 year old TW college grad was working at a bank in TW with monthly salary NT 40,000 (exchange rate is around NT 30 : 1 USD). After paying bills and living expenses he can only save NT 10,000 per month. He went to AU to work at a meat plant and makes 3,000 AUD (NT 93,000) per month. He is able to save NT 62,000 per month in savings.

* Another TW college grad worked in AU for 1 year and saved NT 400,000 from working on the farm. He commented that the work is simple labor such as packing lamb and onions. Don't have to think too much on the job and less stressful (mentally).

* A young TW college grad couple, guy s 25 and his GF 23, was only able to save NT 30,000 per month in TW with both of then working. It's difficult to save for wedding and open their own business in TW. They went to AU to work in packing chicken in paper. It's simple and easy job paying 18 AUD per hour. Each of them make NT 93,000 per month and they are able to save NT 120,000 per month combined. They would like to stay in AU longer if possible.

Currently there are 30,000 Taiwanese working in AU on working holiday VISA. I read from another article that young couples going to AU have "dream target" of saving NT 2 million before returning to TW. Saving NT 60,000+ ($2,000 USD) per month per person can be done if you are willing to work hard and save.

Oddly I don't see TW listed on AU working holiday page, but USA is on there. So if you are in the US and "stuck" somewhere, you might want to look into this as a way out, work hard on a farm and save up to $12,000 USD in 12 months.

Keep in mind that my knowledge is based on a few newspaper articles. I have no actual experience with this. So please do your due diligence.

Last edited by momopi on September 17th, 2012, 4:34 am, edited 7 times in total.

momopi wrote:Recently I read a few articles from TW press on TW college kids in AU on working holiday. The AU work and holiday VISA allows young adults ages 18-30 to work in AU for up to 12 months (24 months possible in less desirable jobs/locations):http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/462/

Interesting, my ex is planning to do this next year, either in Australia or NZ.

I think min wage in Australia is over $15 an hour, like double the US. It's possible for them to save a lot more money than with a typical job in Taipei, even when living w/parents. Australia has a small population which has benefited tremendously from the boom in China by exporting over their natural resources and cashing in.

The article says there are 30,000 TW young adults working in AU on working holiday VISA. The young couple said they are paid 18 AUD (NT 557) per hour after taxes packing chicken. The are able to save NT 120,000 ($4,000 USD) per month by both combined. When they return to TW they hope to afford a wedding and open their own cafe.

Video from TW guy working on fruit farm in AU, showing him picking fruit at work. At this point I'd like to remind everyone that farming on a farm means you might be standing on a ladder picking fruit all day, working in the meat processing plant packing meat all day, or trimming olive orchids with a hacksaw all day. Be aware that farm work = physical labor, not air conditioned office cubical. You'll be in remote locations / farms and not urban cities.

The 5 popular countries for working holiday (for TW college grads). When you go to another country on working holiday, often you will move from place to place for work because the farm work is seasonal. In Taiwan sometimes these kids are referred to as "backpackers", versus in the US we might called it "seasonal workers" or "temporary workers".

Some TW young couples go on working holiday together, but many are single and they "hook up" during their working holiday. When you're working on a farm, the entertainment options are um, rather limited. This couple meet in AU and returned to TW to get married:

Here's a beautiful video by a Japanese girl who went to NZ on working holiday: